Of all people who came to visit, it was Charlotte. And Claire doesn't want to see her now that she's next to Asbert.

She looked back into the room. In the center of the room, a large trunk case is open.

And her clothes are still laid there. 

(….I don't want to be discovered.)

"I'm sorry, I just took a shower and I'm not dressed yet. May I ask what's the matter?"

Claire lied on the spur of the moment.

"Lady Claire, we just wanted to check out the layout of the room."

Then, a familiar voice, not Charlotte's, interjected.

"Are you…Lady Caroline?"

"That's right, Lady Claire."

Caroline is the Earl's daughter of the same grade as Claire.

She was close to Claire when she first entered the school, but they had drifted apart for some time after Charlotte entered the school.

After Claire's baptismal ceremony, and after Charlotte's baptismal ceremony, the number of people around Claire's has gradually dwindled. 

She missed them, but it was only natural for a n.o.ble son or daughter to stand and behave in search of more powerful connections. 

Caroline continued.

"From tomorrow onwards, Asbert-sama has said that this room be vacated for Lady Charlotte's use. We'll come back later, so please allow us to see inside of the room."

Charlotte interjected hesitantly.

"That's the way it is, big sis. I have said that it's too rude to sis and that I don't need it, but Asbert-sama simply…."

Struck by the suddenness of the situation, Claire was unable to respond.

Behind the door, she could hear Caroline's stern voice castigating her.

"Lady Charlotte, why are you still speaking for her? We're just trying to keep you safe and sound….. Lady Claire! I understand your sentiments, but I suggest you consider Lady Charlotte's as well! Even if your mother's are different, she can't be treated like this!"

"Ca, Lady Caroline! Now's not the time to talk about that story…."

Charlotte's dismay could be heard as if to overthrow Caroline's rant.

"…. What do you mean, Lady Caroline?"

For some reason, Claire couldn't follow the plot, so she asked Caroline back.

"Don't you know everything yourself well? Charlotte has been telling me stories since the beginning of her enrolment. I heard that Lady Claire has bullied her endlessly since childhood. Even I didn't believe that sweet Lady Claire was not such a person. However, I am well aware of Lady Claire's position in the Martino family these days. It must be because your evil deeds against Lady Charlotte has finally come to light!"

Caroline sowed it all at once.

The contents were so shocking that Claire's thoughts stopped.

Up until now, Claire had been aware of the fact that she had protected Charlotte, and naturally had never once oppressed her.

They have always prided themselves on being close sisters who don't think of their complicated relations.h.i.+p as having different mothers.

But, what Caroline was saying now was completely foreign to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying."

Claire managed to hide the quivering of her voice from the shock and threw back.

"There's no point in hiding it anymore, Lady Claire. It's not just me, Asbert-sama and the members of the student council all know about it. Up until now, I was able to protect Charlotte-sama because Asbert-sama came to the academy, but Asbert-sama will be graduating tomorrow. Before that, I suppose he wants to be Charlotte-sama's backer."

(….. What do you mean?)

"Charlotte, is what she's saying really true?"

It sounded far-fetched and hard to believe.

"I'm sorry, big sis. I didn't mean to tell everyone. But I'm… it's just so painful… I couldn't help it."

Charlotte's sobbing could be heard through the door.

There, Claire finally realized everything.

(So, that's how it is. Combining this revelation to those cold eyes of Prince Asbert, then it all makes sense…. Now, it's too late to clear up any more misunderstandings.)

(Dear Charlotte…. So, it was I who was the only one who thought we were good sisters. For you, I've only been a stepping stone.)

She tasted something like iron in her mouth.

Unconsciously, she seemed to have bit her lip so she blanched.

"I understand, Lady Caroline, Lady Charlotte."

She replied in a ladylike tone, trying not to show any hint of agitation.

"I'll show you around the room. Could you return later… after dinner?"

Sensing the departure of Charlotte and Caroline from their footsteps, Claire hurriedly made her way to the trunk case spread out in the center of the room.

"I don't have much time."

Claire's room is the highest floor on the south wing of the girls' dormitory. It's a suite with a bedroom in the living room, a large balcony and a  mini kitchen.

The room was given to her only because she was the daughter of the Duke and the First prince's fiancée.

(Tomorrow is Prince Asbert's graduation ceremony. And at the graduation party for all students that will be held thereafter, perhaps Asbert and Charlotte's engagement will be announced.)

She a.n.a.lyzed as she quickly packed her luggage.

(The list of guests I checked in the student council room included the names of the king and his ministers. The dissolution of the engagement must have already been authorized by my father. And I'm supposed to be convicted of harming Charlotte….. So, he wanted to publicly recognize that the royal family is behind Charlotte. To the point where they have no choice but protect her from me!")

Along with the tingling pain in her chest, an indescribably hot emotion, different from anger, crept in.

(…. This is what Asbert-sama has pointed out in the student council room, "the bed of needles.")

"The Noston Country and the Martino family don't need me anymore."

Claire had to realize that the foundation of her life, which had begun to crumble, had in fact long since crumbled.

Don't let anyone see her weaknesses.

She must be a wise and gentle lady at all times.

She has to keep smiling and be a presence that brightens up the country.

…. Now that she's been stripped off her dignity and protection, she found that everything was but a fiction, an illusion.

Sitting in front of the mirror stand, she stared at the familiar face.

In the past, before entering the Royal n.o.ble Academy, Asbert had complimented her on the color of her hair, which was as beautiful as black tea with milk.

And Charlotte would often voice out her envy for her smooth, silky hair.

Zak.

Zak, zak, zak.

Joki Joki Joki Joki….

With scissors, her long hair was cut into semi-long strands.

The long, well-groomed hair that is the symbol of a lady was no longer needed.

Claire then changed into the simplest clothes and boots she had that she felt the most free to move about.

Swept the hair that had fallen to the floor and made the bed.

Then packed up as many things as she could carry with her in her luggage.

"If I leave my luggage behind, I wonder if Charlotte will send them to the mansion."

(Whoever would believe me, when even my father, who thinks of me as a failure, has tormented her precious Charlotte?)

Huh, a self-mocking grin spilled over her face.

Grabbing her luggage, she headed to the fire escape provided on the large balcony.

She never looked back at the room she spent two years in.

(I didn't have that many good memories.)

Although her heart was still chaotic moments ago, as the pleasant night breeze stroked her cheek, Claire's innate pride, which she has been suppressing surfaced on display.

Spring is right around the corner.

Just thinking about it made her feel like her heavy trunk was lighter.